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Giant Keyhole Limpet

The giant keyhole limpet is a primitive type of snail, or gastropod, which lives from Central California to Baja. Characterized by a slimy gray, black, or brownish skin covering its gray shell (yes, its shell is under its skin), this animal is often found fastened onto rocks using suction, feeding off of algae with a radula, or tongue, that scrapes the algae into its mouth on the yellowish underside of its body. This limpet has a black central hole which is used to expel waste away from the gills and mouth to avoid the waste reentering its body. It can grow up to 10” in length. Their shells were used as currency and decoration by Native Americans.

Meinkoth, Norman August. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1998. Print.

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Wikipedia

Megathura crenulata

Living specimen of Megathura crenulata with mantle extended over much of its shell.

Megathura crenulata, common name the great keyhole limpet or giant keyhole limpet, is a northeast Pacific species of limpet in the family Fissurellidae.[1]Megathura is a monotypic genus, in other words, this is the only species in that genus.